Conservatory

What it means

Conservatory (German Konservatorium) is the German form of the word that in Italian is conservatorio, and designates a training institution for music. Its origin lies in the orphanages and foundling homes of Naples and Venice, in which children were cared for and taught — the name comes from preserving in the literal sense.

Musical use

In German usage a distinction is necessary that does not hold in the Romance languages and in English. There the corresponding word designates the academy of higher education; here “Konservatorium” today usually stands for an institution below the level of higher education — a music school with an extended offering, often with preparation for study — while professional training takes place at music academies. Some houses rich in tradition continue to carry the name although they have the rank of a higher-education institution.

The modern conservatory as a municipal institution with a fixed curriculum arose in the nineteenth century, when musical life passed from courtly and ecclesiastical ties into civic sponsorship. With it the structure of subjects that still holds today was formed: main subject, secondary subject, music theory, ear training, ensemble playing, methodology. What receded compared with older training is remarkable — figured-bass playing, improvisation, and composing after models used to belong to learning as a matter of course.

In the nineteenth century, state or civic conservatories arose in many European cities on the model of the Paris Conservatoire, founded in 1795, among them Leipzig in 1843. Many of them were raised to music academies in the twentieth century. The name has survived regionally; in some countries it today designates the highest level of training, in others music schools for children and young people.

Other names

The Italian form Conservatorio refers to the origin of the institution: the Neapolitan and Venetian conservatori were originally orphanages in which children received a musical training. From them the name for state and private music academies emerged, which is still carried in many countries in the respective national language.

Performance practice

If you are preparing for an entrance examination, inform yourself early about the requirements of the respective institution; they differ, and ear training and music theory are regularly underestimated. Independently of this, it is worthwhile to catch up on what is lost yourself: whoever improvises, reads figured bass, and writes small settings of their own understands the repertoire better than through practising alone.